Senator Duncan Spender has diagnosed the Pharmacy Guild of Australia as chronically ill following reports it influenced the Government to back down on recommended changes to certain prescriptions.
Agreeing with the Australian Medical Association that the Pharmacy Guild appeared to be putting profits ahead of people, Senator Spender questioned why advice from the Independent Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee was ignored in favour of the Pharmacy Guild, a union for pharmacy owners.
“The Pharmacy Guild predictably has put the interests of its members ahead of the health of everyday Australians,” he said. “And the fact that the Government has appeared to bend to their wishes shows the political system is sick.
“The wishes of the Pharmacy Guild should not have trumped the advice of the independent advisory committee, who investigated the suitability of doctors prescribing a longer supply of much-needed medicine.
“Increasing the supply of much-needed medicine for chronic illnesses, like high cholesterol or high blood pressure, by just one month makes sense. It would make life a little bit easier for patients, who wouldn’t need to visit the chemist as much or keep going to the doctor more often than required, and, most importantly, save patients money.
“The role of pharmacies is to dispense the medicine the doctor prescribes, not dictate how much should be sold at any given time.
“Australians can rest assured that in my new role as Senator, I intend to hold the government to account for putting the desires of interest groups ahead of the Australian people,” he concluded.
Senator Spender is a Liberal Democrats Senator for NSW, replacing David Leyonhjelm who successfully contested the NSW state election last weekend.
